30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself...

I stumbled upon the article "30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself" awhile back and read over it and didn't really spend any time processing it, just kinda glanced over it. Then Candace posted a link to it today on twitter and I took some time to really read it and think about my life and the things I "do to myself" [and those around me]. 

I realized what great strides I've taken in the past few years to come into my own and put myself and my own happiness first. While at the same time, learning the ultimate meaning of compromise and what it means to live your life for and with another... oh marriage.

There are many items on the list that a few years ago I would say definitely applied to my life [and trust me there are still a LOT of items on the list that I need to continuously work on] but I feel happy about where I am and the amount of growth that I've made [and hopefully will continue to make]. 

Anyways, here's a condensed version of the list... 

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

1. Stop spending time with the wrong people. 

2. Stop running from your problems.
3. Stop lying to yourself.
4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner.
5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not.
6. Stop trying to hold onto the past.
7. Stop being scared to make a mistake.
8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes.
9. Stop trying to buy happiness.
10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness.
11. Stop being idle.
12. Stop thinking you’re not ready.
13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons.
14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work.
15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else.
16. Stop being jealous of others.
17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself.
18. Stop holding grudges.
19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level.
20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others.
21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break.
22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments.
23. Stop trying to make things perfect.
24. Stop following the path of least resistance.
25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t.
26. Stop blaming others for your troubles.
27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone.
28. Stop worrying so much.
29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen.
30. Stop being ungrateful.

[via, see the full list with more on each item here]

All in all, I live a great life - and I feel like I've made great strides to becoming a better person, living in the moment, and just living life the past few years. Like many people, I've struggled with the idea of "self" and who I am/who I want to be over the past few years. I've given up many things that made up a huge part of my identity and at the same time gained many new roles which has changed that self-identity as well.  As I think about bringing a baby into the world and taking on my new role as "mom" I think about this list and the improvements I want to continue to strive to make - to make myself a better wife, friend, mother, and more than anything just better person.

2012 is already proving to be a great year and I know it's just going to get even better - here's to moving forward and to living in the moment.

Here are the 10 major items off the list that I feel like I need to stop doing to myself/want to work on this year:

7. Stop being scared to make a mistake. 

8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes.
11. Stop being idle.
12. Stop thinking you’re not ready.
18. Stop holding grudges.
20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others.
22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments.
28. Stop worrying so much.
29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen.
30. Stop being ungrateful.

what items on the list are on your list?

what do you need to stop doing to yourself?